Building and landscape architecture constantly undergoes evolutions of thought and style as new materials and designs are developed, tested, and introduced into common usage. Landscape architecture has undergone considerable change over the past fifty years, especially because of the differing climatic zones in the United States. Moreover, lawns today often have freeform, that has evolved as new theories of design have become accepted in the landscape industry.
Migration of people from the Eastern regions of the country to the West has resulted in a corresponding migration of some favorite turfgrass and plant species. Many different varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, for example, are now grown in areas of the country far removed from the more than twenty-five inches of annual preciptation needed to sustain these types of grasses. The use of various `cool-season` turfgrass in relatively arid zones of the country has meant the emergence of an irrigation and maintenance industry to provide the expertise and systems needed to sustain these lawn and accessory plantings.
The present invention relates to such logistical support systems and especially to a means for selectively regulating the amount of nitrogen-based liquid fertilizer applied to different sections of the same landscape areas. To illustrate, a lawn area often moves in and out of shaded areas, created by trees, and around masses of shrubs. This freeform of design often places much of the turfgrass in the sun, and some in a combination of sun and shade.
These differing environmental factors contribute to slightly different amounts of fertilizer needed to sustain the lawn plantings, within respective micro-climates, in a healthy and vigorous condition. The present device relates to providing means for regulating the amounts of a liquid fertilizer applied through various laterals and junctions of an underground sprinkler system to effect the necessary appropriate application of fertilizer to the turfgrass areas.